Little Ruin
I’m currently a narrative consultant for the upcoming adventure game Little Ruin from Melbourne indie developers Lucernal. You play as Isobel, a teenage girl caught up in the civil conflict which has turned her country – and her family – upside down.
It’s early days, but the game already looks amazing, and as a lifelong fan of graphic adventures, it’s great to be working on one. It’s also a step away from my usual genres of sci-fi and fantasy, but I’m loving helping to tell a big story from the perspective of a young person.
Keep an eye on Lucernal’s Twitter or Instagram for images of Little Ruin during development.
Table of Tales: The Crooked Crown
My first videogame as head writer, Table of Tales: The Crooked Crown by Tin Man Games was originally released for PlayStation VR. It’s now also available on Nintendo Switch, Windows via Steam, and the Meta Quest 2.
Table of Tales is a digital twist on classic tabletop roleplaying games, set in a world of sorcery, swashbuckling and scoundrels, all overseen by the enthusiastic magical game master Arbitrix.
The game won the 2022 Australian Game Developer Award for Excellence in AR or VR, and was a finalist for Best Narrative in the 2019 Freeplay Awards. Plus voice actor Julie-Ann Dean won a 2019 SOVAS Voice Arts Award for her portrayal of Arbitrix.
Reviews
“The Story is FANTASTIC! … This is a must play for lovers of storytelling and tabletop games.” – Oathbound Gaming, September 15, 2021 (PC release)
“The future of tabletop storytelling … I lost time playing [Table of Tales]. Two hours passed before I realised it, simply because the music and story were so involving and fascinating. … It’s equal parts thrilling, fascinating and fantastic.” ★★★★½ – Leah Williams, The AU Review, April 20, 2019
“a proper, bona fide dungeon master … complete with the performative acting of different voices to represent different characters … paints vivid pictures of exciting, heroic action … a spot-on recreation of the best pen-and-paper RPG experiences and dungeon master performances” ★★★★½ – Matt S, Digitally Downloaded, April 24, 2019
“a blast to play … a charming little fantasy tale … it’s easy to find yourself engrossed in what’s going on … hard not to feel completely enthralled” 8.7/10 – Rob, Use A Potion, April 23, 2019
Other Digital Games work
Inmost – I worked as a writer on the Australian localisation of this 2019 indie game from Lithuanian developers Hidden Layer Games. Find out more at inmostgame.com.
Run The Cloud and Outside: The Cloud – I was co-designer of these digitally supported street games in 2016 and 2017, created by Pop Up Playground and Tech Assault Laser Skirmish for Vic Health with the support of SAE Qantm College.
1000 Cities: Lords of Misrule – I was puzzle and game designer on this a smaller-scale version of 1000 Cities (see below), exploring the new Arts West building at the University of Melbourne in 2016.
1000 Cities – I was lead designer on this 2015 hybrid physical and digital game by Pop Up Playground for the City of Melbourne. It used a web app to explore Melbourne and interact with the local environment. Find out more and see videos here.